{"title":"Ergonomic improvement using natural language processing for voice-directed order selection in large industrial settings","authors":"David T. Goomas, Timothy D. Ludwig","doi":"10.1002/hfm.21009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.21009","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This field study examined the automatic speech recognition (ASR) of voice-directed computerized systems for order selectors employed in large industrial settings (e.g., fulfillment centers, distribution centers, warehouses, and manufacturing plants). Voice-directed systems for order selection require selectors to listen to instructions via a headset and speak into a microphone, directing each worker to select products for store orders throughout the facility. Originally, ASR used voice recognition that required “voice enrollment” (voice setup) for each worker plus a trainer's time required as part of the setup. Voice setup generally averaged about 60 min for both the worker and the trainer. Lately, a newer technology now utilizes “speech recognition,” which eliminates voice enrollment altogether. This study measured order selector voice setup times between voice recognition and speech recognition in five facilities. In two distribution centers where speech recognition was implemented, all voice setup hours for all order selectors (<i>n</i> = 55) plus the trainer's time were eliminated. This amounted to a total savings of 110 h. Moreover, using speech recognition becomes a recurring saving for each new employee entering the organization. Now the focus of training is shifted from voice setup to immediately training workers to select orders via voice, an ergonomic improvement.</p>","PeriodicalId":55048,"journal":{"name":"Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries","volume":"33 6","pages":"537-544"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50123620","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Discipline differences in mental models: How mechanical engineers and automation engineers evaluate machine processes","authors":"Judith Schmidt, Romy Müller","doi":"10.1002/hfm.21005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.21005","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Interdisciplinary collaboration frequently comes into play when existing problems cannot be solved by one discipline alone. However, the interlocking of contributions from different disciplines is by no means trivial. This exploratory study examines one foundation of successful teamwork, namely shared mental models. To this end, we compared the contents of mental models between members of different but interdependent disciplines who collaboratively solve knowledge-intensive, creative tasks. Five automation and five mechanical engineers were recruited from a company that produces packaging machines. In semi-structured interviews, participants reported their approach to evaluating the process behavior of a packaging machine, and their mental models were represented in concept maps. Quantitative analyses revealed that the maps of automation engineers were smaller than those of mechanical engineers. In qualitative analyses, the focus on different levels of abstraction and on contents from the two disciplines was examined. Automation engineers represented a large proportion of rather abstract machine functions, whereas mechanical engineers additionally represented the physical implementation of these functions. The disciplinary focus also differed in the sense that automation engineers mainly attended to automated machine processes, while mechanical engineers attended to both mechanical and automated processes. Overall, automation engineers' focus was narrower than that of mechanical engineers. We explain these results by considering typical tasks and reasoning processes in both disciplines, and discuss how shared mental models can aid the integration of different disciplinary perspectives, for instance, during Systems Engineering.</p>","PeriodicalId":55048,"journal":{"name":"Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries","volume":"33 6","pages":"521-536"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hfm.21005","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50117624","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ergonomic assessment for designing manual material handling tasks at a food warehouse in India: A case study","authors":"Amit M. Adhaye, Dhananjay A. Jolhe","doi":"10.1002/hfm.21004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.21004","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Manual handling of heavy grain bags is a commonplace activity across agriculture produce supply chain. In the present research, a manual material handling involving lifting, lowering, and carrying grain bags along the paths of variable characteristics is critically analyzed to explore the risk associated with it. The humans engaged in this activity are found to be facing discomfort, suffering from pain and musculoskeletal disorders, and undergoing medication for the same. This study proposes and demonstrates a structured ergonomic evaluation methodology to not only assess the level of discomfort/pain but also evaluate risk factors such as load handled, method of handling, frequency of handling, awkward postures, path characteristics, and so on. It employs a systematic multimethod approach consisting of Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion, Ovako Working posture Assessment System, NIOSH Lifting Equation, Rapid Entire Body Assessment, and Key Indicator Method. The study reveals that about 94% of the sample population suffered from moderate to severe discomfort in ankle, knee, and lower back. Eight basic activities responsible for risky postures are identified. Frequency of handling, weight being handled, back bending/twisting, poor coupling, and walking surface are observed as major contributors to musculoskeletal discomfort. Carrying on shoulder is found to be riskier than carrying on back; however, the risk is found to be significantly lowered by carrying on backpack. The present study identifies the need for task redesign, proper gripping arrangements, auxiliary devices for lifting/carrying, and improvement in the path characteristics.</p>","PeriodicalId":55048,"journal":{"name":"Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries","volume":"33 6","pages":"499-520"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50146273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Benefits of nanotechnology for occupational ergonomic design: A positive step toward more protection of workers' health","authors":"Nafiseh Nasirzadeh, Soqrat Omari Shekaftik, Zahra Keshavarz","doi":"10.1002/hfm.21003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.21003","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Nowadays, the combination of “Nanotechnology” and “Ergonomics” has been known as “Nano-ergonomics.” Nano-ergonomics can help to develop more comfortable conditions in workplaces. So, the aim of this study is to reveal benefits of nanotechnology for occupational health and safety design, especially ergonomic design. The search strategy was provided based on cochrane guidelines with main search terms of “Nanotechnology,” “Nanomaterial,” and “Nanoparticle” combined with “Ergonomics” and “Human Factors.” PubMed, Scopus, Web of Sciences and Google Scholar Databases were researched for relevant articles. Also, Google search engine was used to find nano-ergonomic commercial products and to complete the research with identifying additional information. A total of 32 articles were first achieved. By providing Synthesis Without Meta-analysis reporting guideline, finally, four studies were regarded as appropriate. The results showed that nanotechnology has developed in three major areas of ergonomics such as physical, environmental, and cognitive ergonomics, which is a positive step toward more protection of workers' health. Although, there are not any original article related to nanotechnology for ergonomic product design, they are offered as the commercial products by the largest companies such as Amazon. Also, workers at the nanotechnology-related industries have the challenges of exposure to toxic nanomaterials. So, before the application of nanomaterials, we should have proper knowledge of nanomaterials-caused toxic hazards and how to handle them.</p>","PeriodicalId":55048,"journal":{"name":"Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries","volume":"33 6","pages":"490-498"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50144612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Katie J. Parnell, Siobhan E. Merriman, Katherine L. Plant
{"title":"Gender perspectives on electric micromobility use","authors":"Katie J. Parnell, Siobhan E. Merriman, Katherine L. Plant","doi":"10.1002/hfm.21002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.21002","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Electric micromobility (e-micromobility) offers the potential to enhance the sustainability of first- and last-mile journeys in urban areas by reducing the number of private vehicle trips. As a new mode of transport, it is imperative that it is not subject to the same male bias that has been evidenced across our existing transport networks. An in-depth qualitative study was conducted with 24 UK participants (12 females) to assess the gender factors that relate to the incentives and barriers of e-micromobility (electric bike and electric scooter) use. Focus groups and interviews were conducted and the data analysis was disaggregated by gender to reveal the differences and similarities between female and male perspectives on e-micromobility use. Differences in the types of trips made and perceptions of fear were prevalent. Key gender-related findings and recommendations are made. By reviewing, and acting upon, the different perspectives that males and females have towards e-micromobility they can be made more inclusive for all. This can enhance their uptake and reduce the dependence on private vehicles.</p>","PeriodicalId":55048,"journal":{"name":"Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries","volume":"33 6","pages":"476-489"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hfm.21002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50140639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Research on risk assessment model of subjective and objective integration in manual handling work","authors":"Bin Ren, Qinyu Zhou, Jiayu Chen","doi":"10.1002/hfm.20999","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.20999","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The main hazards in the process of manual handling work are triggered by human factors and ergonomics. This study is intended to implement a valid approach to quantitatively evaluate the risk level during manual handling work. A risk assessment model for manual handling workers was proposed based on subjective and objective correlation. A simulation experiment of manual handling process was developed and an ergonomics evaluation method was carried out. The 33-point human joint model of BlazePose neural network and the Rapid Upper Limb Analysis (RULA) method were utilized to determine the risk posture and risk index of the manual handling workers. This study brought together hemodynamic parameters and the score of Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale and Physical Resources Scale (PRS) to obtain the final comprehensive index of work risk. The results showed that the risk indexes from the three stages of the experiment obtained by RULA method were 3, 4, and 7. And the scores of comprehensive indexes obtained by the risk assessment model were 1.841, 1.900, and 1.987, suggesting that the evaluation model based on subjective and objective correlation had the same ability to determine the risk levels of different handling tasks. Therefore, the risk assessment model proposed in this study verified the effectiveness of the comprehensive evaluation index integrating hemodynamic parameters and subjective evaluation scores.</p>","PeriodicalId":55048,"journal":{"name":"Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries","volume":"33 6","pages":"464-475"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50122952","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kirsty M. Lynch, Victoria A. Banks, Aaron P. J. Roberts, Jon Downes, Stewart Radcliffe, Katherine L. Plant
{"title":"The application of a system-based risk management framework and social network analysis to the Maritime Autonomous Surface Ship system: Who are the decision-makers in the wider system?","authors":"Kirsty M. Lynch, Victoria A. Banks, Aaron P. J. Roberts, Jon Downes, Stewart Radcliffe, Katherine L. Plant","doi":"10.1002/hfm.21000","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.21000","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) currently have no formal regulations developed specifically for their operation, as their regulatory framework is still under development. Rasmussen's Risk Management Framework has been used to develop an actor map of the current MASS system in the UK, to show who the actors, decision-makers, and planners are within the wider sociotechnical system and the level at which they sit. From the actor map, two social networks were created, one to show the connections that currently exist between the actors within the MASS system and another to show what a future MASS system could look like if regulations and standards were put in place for MASS. Social Network Analysis was then used to investigate the wider MASS system's dynamics, to understand which actors currently have a high degree of influence within the UK MASS system, and where the shortfalls are in the current MASS system. The analysis showed that the industry and end user levels lacked support from the higher system levels, and the addition of formal regulations and standards in the future MASS system would increase the MASS system's resilience. System recommendations for each level in the Risk Management Framework were then made to suggest ways to increase the influence of the regulators and promote the safe operation of MASS.</p>","PeriodicalId":55048,"journal":{"name":"Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries","volume":"33 5","pages":"395-429"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hfm.21000","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50121781","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"How does people's trust in automated vehicles change after automation errors occur? An empirical study on dynamic trust in automated driving","authors":"Hao Tan, Yuyue Hao","doi":"10.1002/hfm.21001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.21001","url":null,"abstract":"<p>When errors of automated vehicles (AVs) occur, drivers' trust can easily be destroyed, resulting in the reduction of the use of AVs. This study aims to examine how error of AVs declines driver's trust by impacting their subjective perceptions. A driving simulator experiment is conducted, in which 104 participants (male = 58; female = 46) experienced automated driving with automation errors and rated their trust. The results indicate that automation error will affect the driver's perceived predictability, perceived reliability, and perceived safety, which will lead to the decline of trust and abandonment of automated driving. With the occurrence of automation error of AVs, perceived safety plays a more critical role in drivers' trust. In addition, when automation errors occur in specific tasks with low risk, the trust of drivers will drop faster than that in high-risk tasks. This paper has explored the internal effects of the decline of driver's trust after automation errors of AVs, and further considers the influence of different external risks on these perception factors and trust. This study can help AVs manufacturers to formulate different degrees of trust repair strategies according to different driving tasks and accident severity.</p>","PeriodicalId":55048,"journal":{"name":"Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries","volume":"33 6","pages":"449-463"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50121866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chi-Ping Hsiung, Gabriel A. León, David Stinson, Erin K. Chiou
{"title":"Blaming yourself, your partner, or an unexpected event: Attribution biases and trust in a physical coordination task","authors":"Chi-Ping Hsiung, Gabriel A. León, David Stinson, Erin K. Chiou","doi":"10.1002/hfm.20998","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.20998","url":null,"abstract":"<p>As robots enabled by artificial intelligence become more agentic, people may come to develop trust schemas based on a robot's actions and attribute blame to the robot as they would with a human partner. Trust and blame have yet to be investigated during dynamic physical coordination tasks despite the potential ramifications for manufacturing and service industries that could benefit from effective human–robot physical coordination. In anticipation of future human–robot work configurations, we developed a joint physical coordination task as a preliminary test environment for understanding trust and blame in a work partner. Fifty-five participants were asked to jointly balance and transport a weighted box along a fixed path, and we used this test environment to evaluate the impact of a surprising event on trust in a work partner, and attribution of blame following a negative performance outcome. Results indicate that the group who experienced a surprising event compared to the group who did not trusted their partner more, but there was no difference in the attribution of blame to themselves, their partner, or to the surprising event. Conversely, the group who did not experience a surprising event tended to blame themselves for the negative outcome. These findings suggest that environmental uncertainty may prompt people's attribution of blame across multiple parties, including themselves. Moreover, people may build trust in work partners through the shared experience of surprising events. Future work would benefit from adopting our study design to investigate whether these findings are extendable to human–robot joint actors.</p>","PeriodicalId":55048,"journal":{"name":"Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries","volume":"33 5","pages":"379-394"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50121782","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Paul M. Salmon, Chris Baber, Catherine Burns, Tony Carden, Nancy Cooke, Missy Cummings, Peter Hancock, Scott McLean, Gemma J. M. Read, Neville A. Stanton
{"title":"Managing the risks of artificial general intelligence: A human factors and ergonomics perspective","authors":"Paul M. Salmon, Chris Baber, Catherine Burns, Tony Carden, Nancy Cooke, Missy Cummings, Peter Hancock, Scott McLean, Gemma J. M. Read, Neville A. Stanton","doi":"10.1002/hfm.20996","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.20996","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is the next and forthcoming evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Though there could be significant benefits to society, there are also concerns that AGI could pose an existential threat. The critical role of Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) in the design of safe, ethical, and usable AGI has been emphasized; however, there is little evidence to suggest that HFE is currently influencing development programs. Further, given the broad spectrum of HFE application areas, it is not clear what activities are required to fulfill this role. This article presents the perspectives of 10 researchers working in AI safety on the potential risks associated with AGI, the HFE concepts that require consideration during AGI design, and the activities required for HFE to fulfill its critical role in what could be humanity's final invention. Though a diverse set of perspectives is presented, there is broad agreement that AGI potentially poses an existential threat, and that many HFE concepts should be considered during AGI design and operation. A range of critical activities are proposed, including collaboration with AGI developers, dissemination of HFE work in other relevant disciplines, the embedment of HFE throughout the AGI lifecycle, and the application of systems HFE methods to help identify and manage risks.</p>","PeriodicalId":55048,"journal":{"name":"Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries","volume":"33 5","pages":"366-378"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2023-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hfm.20996","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50146746","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}